Daily Archives: August 30, 2018

Fisheries Omnibus Bill of 2018 – California Lawmakers Act to Protect Whales, Turtles From Entanglement

The California Senate yesterday sent legislation to Gov. Jerry Brown to sign that requires the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to adopt regulations to prevent whales and sea turtles from being entangled in commercial Dungeness crab lines. West Coast entanglements have skyrocketed in recent years. California commercial Dungeness crab gear is responsible for the majority of entanglements where the gear could be identified, entangling at least 35 whales from 2015 to 2017. Senate Bill 1309 responded to the crisis by requiring regulations by November 1, 2020, and directing the department to restrict fishing as needed until then to prevent a significant risk of entanglements. >click to read<20:33

So that’s how you deal with lobsters

Christie Wilcox describes a terrible experiment. Investigators were mystified >click here< by an area around a Pacific island that was empty of lobsters, so they dumped a bunch of lobsters there to see what happened. And then… “Visibility was great that day, and virtually the entire sea bottom started to move,” he said. That movement was countless whelks. They started to climb onto the newcomers, sticking to their legs. “I didn’t know then, but they’d started to suck them alive, basically. It was like a horror movie,” Barkai said. “It actually was a bit frightening to watch.” The lobsters simply didn’t know how to respond. They were outnumbered and overwhelmed. “To my horror, in about 30, 40 minutes, all the lobsters were killed.”  Barkai managed to bring two whelk-coated lobsters back to the surface to show the crew—which is when the first photo in this piece was shot.>click to read<19:59

Sea Cucumber: Ocean Choice International in St. Lawrence highlighted during Innovation Day

It’s not the kind of cucumber you’d put in a green salad. But the slimy-looking sea creature is the type of thing that finds its way to the Asian dinner plate; sold at pricey restaurant as a delicacy, the dried product is often rehydrated to be used in rice salads and/or soups. Production of sea cucumber has allowed the plant to extend its production season. And that’s meant jobs for over 100 people at the Ocean Choice International (OCI) plant in St. Lawrence. Production of sea cucumber has allowed the plant to extend its production season.,, “The inshore vessels have gotten so much better, the product quality that has been coming from the inshore sector over the last two decades is improved immensely, snow crab, shrimp, sea cucumbers,”Blaine Sullivan says. “When I started in the business Canada, and Newfoundland, was not renowned for quality (in seafood) but it is today. There’s been a big change and that’s something this industry should be proud of, and should talk more about.” >click to read<19:13

Massachusetts GOP hopeful Geoff Diehl forms fishing advisory council

Geoff Diehl, who’s running in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, announced Thursday morning the formation of his “Fishing Advisory Council.” Diehl made the announcement on the city’s working waterfront at Bergie’s Seafood. “Understanding the importance of fishing to our economy, I have been meeting with leaders of the industry for well over a year. It is clear that fishermen need and deserve a full-time senator who will work to revive and protect the industry,” Diehl said in a statement. “That’s why today I am pleased to announce my Fishing Advisory Council. They will be advising me on fishing and related matters that effect our local ports.” >click to read<13:57

Mi’kmaw woman seeks to charge Canada with theft for seizing fishing gear

A Mi’kmaw woman from Acadia First Nation in Nova Scotia has asked the RCMP to charge the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) with theft for seizing lobster traps she laid while fishing by inherent right, outside of Canadian fishing regulations. Marilynn-Leigh Francis and her three nephews dropped 19 lobster traps into St. Mary’s Bay at the beginning of August. Last week, Francis confronted DFO officers on the water after they pulled them back up. Seeing the seizure as unwarranted, Francis called the RCMP and filed a complaint asking the police to charge DFO with theft. It was the second time she had filed a complaint against DFO, she said. As far as she knows, no charges have been laid. >click to read<13:07

Senator Dan Sullivan Applauds Senate Passage of American Fisheries Advisory Committee Act

U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) is applauding the Senate passage of S. 1322, the American Fisheries Advisory Committee Act, bipartisan legislation he introduced alongside Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) to create an Advisory Committee to assist in the awarding of fisheries marketing, research, and development grants. Alaska Congressman Don Young is the sponsor of companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.,, S. 1322, the American Fisheries Advisory Committee Act unanimously passed the Senate on August 22, 2018 with a clarifying amendment offered by Senator Dan Sullivan and Senator Ed Markey (D-MA). The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources. >click to read<11:09

Scallop War – ‘Not the first time!’ Fisherman says French Navy ignored attacks on UK boats two years ago

Derek Meredith, the owner of two fishing boats caught in the shameless attack by French fishermen in the international waters between France and England, told BBC News this was the second time he had to defend himself at sea. Mr Meredith said he experienced the same attack by the hand of French fishermen two years ago, revealing the French Navy, present at the time of the attack, did not intervene to stop it from happening. He said: “Two years ago it happened to us but not as forceful as this time, I wouldn’t have said. >click to read<10:00

New York’s RE Debacle Deepens: Offshore Wind Power All-at-Sea Without Massive Subsidies

Where the cost of onshore wind power is staggering, the cost of offshore wind power is astronomical. Of course, in either case, in the absence of massive and perpetual subsidies, there would never have been a single turbine constructed on land or at sea, ever, period. New York State’ Governor, Andrew Cuomo is just the latest in a long line of politicians in bed with crony capitalists the wind and solar ‘industries’. His obsession with wind power is sending New York’s power prices into orbit. And his plan to spear thousands of turbines off the New Jersey coast has incensed local fishermen who are literally told developers to get f*%#@d: Deepwater in Deep Trouble: Fishermen Tell Off-Shore Wind Farm Developers to F@*#K Off. >click to read<07:50